KUALA LUMPUR: The River of Life (ROL) here has been listed in world’s top 10 Waterfront Districts by the Independent, United Kingdom’s online news portal, recently.
The portal highlighted that even though the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) is surrounded with shiny luxury hotels, the historic area near the beautiful Masjid Jamek mosque is the most exciting one.
“This colourful chunk of the city centre sits on the banks of the Klang River which is the focus of River of Life, a regeneration project described as one of the most expensive urban river restoration projects ever undertaken.
“But it has paid off ... today, there are riverside cafes, hi-tech fountains, bicycle paths and nighttime light show which turns the water into stunning cobalt blue,” it said.
The ROL project was aimed at reviving the Klang River and Gombak River within the city and transforming the banks into waterfront areas with economic and commercial value through river cleaning, beautification and land development.
The first phase of the river beautification for Precinct 7 of the ROL project involves historic sites like Dataran Merdeka, Jamek Mosque and Central Market which are at the confluence of the two rivers.
Other waterfronts which made it into the top 10 lists were Shibuya Stream in Tokyo, Japan, Holzmarkt (Berlin, Germany), Tampa Riverwalk (Florida, US), Seaport District (New York, US), Elizabeth Quay (Perth, Australia), Clarke Quay (Singapore), Charoen Krung (Thailand), Sugar Beach (Canada) and Victoria Dockside (Hong Kong). — Bernama
